Reseracher Anja Bye said: “Our study showed that by measuring a combination of five different microRNAs and adding this information to the traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease, we could identify those that were going to experience a myocardial infarction with considerably improved precision.”

The study looked at 212 healthy participants that either died from myocardial infarction within ten years or remained healthy at the time of the final study in 2006.

This is not the first attempt in the last decade to improve risk prediction by isolating biomarkers in the blood; previously calculators added an inflammation marker called c-reactive protein (CRP) and diabetic marker called Hba1c.